Fuu watched Jin until he was out of sight, then she went back inside. Mugen hadn't moved and she gazed at him a moment, then went about cleaning up. After she finished, she changed into her sleeping kimono, blew out the candles, and slipped into the futon, pressing against Mugen's back and putting an arm around him.

His eyes popped and he sat up. "Fuu, what the hell?"

She reached for him and pulled him down. He tried to resist but was too weak and he lay there, still facing the wall. They were both silent for a long moment, then Fuu said quietly, "I know what's bothering you, Mugen, and it doesn't matter."

"Nothing's bothering me."

"I think it would bother me too." Fuu's voice was very thoughtful. "To find out I have a sickness that will never get better, and to have to keep medicine around for the rest of my life-that's pretty bad. Especially for a strong man like you. I bet you've never been sick a day in your life, have you?"

"I've been sick. Just not like this. Not like….forever."

"It doesn't matter, Mugen."

"It does," he said sullenly. "I thought….I thought maybe things could be….different now."

"Different?"

Mugen swallowed hard, a knot in his stomach. "I was pretty out of it, but I remember asking you about Sara." His voice was very soft. "You said you didn't know if she was going to kill you too."

"I didn't."

His voice became almost inaudible. "You said I was worth it."

"You are." Fuu pressed her forehead against his shoulder. "Worth it all. Worth more."

Mugen rolled over to face her. "Yeah, but you couldn't….not somebody who's always going to be getting sick…."

"Couldn't what? Love you?" He didn't answer and Fuu touched his scarred cheek, remembering him coming through the door of the ruined church to save her, blood dripping from the fresh wounds on his face. Even if he never said the words, she could see a declaration of love every time she looked at him. "I do love you, Mugen. I've loved you for a long time. Nothing will ever change that."

The Ryukyuan felt the tiniest spark of hope. In all his wild life, nobody had ever cared about him until there was Jin and Fuu. He knew his sickness wouldn't matter to Jin, but he wouldn't be living with the man. Jin wasn't the one who would be affected by it if he had another attack. Well, he would be upset if Mugen got sick again-in his heart the Ryukyuan knew that was true, but it was one thing to be someone's friend. It was a different thing for a man and a woman. Fuu was some kind of woman, though. She tricked him into going with her on her quest, nagged him, fought him for food, nursed him back to health when he was hurt, threw herself in front of a sword to protect him. Now she was saying she loved him. "So you want to stay with me? Even though I'd be a lot of trouble?"

"Oh, you've always been a lot of trouble, Mugen." Her voice sounded like she was suppressing laughter. "This is nothing to all the trouble you've been to me."

"Is that so?" He took a deep breath and said with elaborate casualness, "I suppose next you'll want me to marry you."

Once upon a time, Fuu had thought of how the man she loved would ask her to share her life with him. There had been flowers, and starlight, and eloquent speeches, and he had been tall and handsome and very rich. This roundabout proposal from a scruffy ex-pirate was about as far from that little girl's fantasy as she was from the child she had once been. Mugen was not the prince of her fantasies, but he was the man of her dreams. "We can get married, Mugen."

The Ryukyuan felt a warm glow in his heart-an unfamiliar feeling, but a very good one. He wrapped his arms around Fuu, sighing contentedly. "Just don't dye your teeth, okay, Fuu?"

"All married women dye their teeth. Don't you want people to know I belong to you?"

Mugen said darkly, "Anybody tries to make a move on you is going to know you belong to me." He was very tired now but he wanted to say one more thing. "I love your smile just the way it is."

Even though it was too dark to see, Fuu smiled at him. "And me too?"

"And you too."